I meant to write about Bennedict Mathurin months ago. You can ask my editor, Jackson, who reminded me about the piece I pitched long ago during Mathurin’s 36-point explosion against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. I told him it’s finally happening. Famous last words.
There’s no time like the present, though, and Mathurin just carried his hobbled Indiana Pacers squad to double overtime against the defending champions. The Thunder are plenty injured in fairness but the Pacers’ offense was missing Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell, as well as Andrew Nembhard after a first-half injury.
I’ve been a relative Mathurin skeptic for quite some time, a bit lower than consensus on his volume scoring without much extra utility. But the 2024-25 postseason proved the value of his relentless scoring aggression. He continued that Thursday, dragging his team to a narrow loss in Indiana’s season opener.
Normally, the Pacers zip the ball around the perimeter before finding a shot. Mathurin doesn’t play by those rules and, despite his major flaws and occasional antics, Indiana needed someone like him in the postseason, where all of the rules constantly change. Sometimes, the “wrong shot” for Mathurin was the right shot for the Pacers.
Thursday, Mathurin made his case to remove all of those caveats; most of his attempts ended up right. His 36 points came on blistering 69 percent true shooting, carving up an elite Oklahoma City defense still featuring plenty of healthy star defenders. He unceremoniously fouled out in the second overtime but two of his late-game buckets were the best of his young NBA career.
Mathurin converted three shots beyond the arc and knocked down 15-of-17 free throws but those two-pointers late nearly stole the win. Indiana spammed Mathurin and Pascal Siakam’s ghost screening actions with “flat” spacing down the stretch. But on this play, the ghost doesn’t create any advantage for Mathurin against Lu Dort.
No worries, as Mathurin drives straight at his fellow Canadian and reigning All-Defensive First Team member. Kevin Durant couldn’t muster much against Dort Tuesday. On Thursday, Indiana generated 46 points in the 35.5 partial possessions Dort guarded Mathurin, according to the NBA’s tracking data.
On this play, Mathurin felt a hand on his hip, Euro-stepped from the foul line to draw contact and sank the and-one floater.
At the end of the first overtime, Mathurin isolated against the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with Indiana trailing by two. The clip cuts out at the beginning but notice the same flat spacing, this time with Obi Toppin setting a ghost screen. No switch? No problem. Mathurin puts his head down, hops off two feet, glances at the rim and bamboozles Gilgeous-Alexander for a wide-open layup:
These are undeniable star buckets, creating rim attempts and free throws in the clutch against great defenders. Mathurin’s foul-drawing, despite the ire it elicits, is a star quality as well. He won’t take 17 free throws every night but this is similar to what he’s always done. Thursday was his 29th career game with double-digit free throw attempts. Mathurin attempted 5.6 free throws per 75 possessions last season, ranking in the 95th percentile for his position and 34th league-wide.
In the 2024-25 playoffs, he juiced his foul-drawing to an absurd 9.8 per 75 possessions, only trailing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell. It’s the highest mark for any playoff performer with at least 300 minutes in a single postseason since Antetokounmpo in 2022 and the highest for a guard since James Harden in 2017 (10.6 per 75).
Some of Mathurin’s foul-drawing potency stems from his salesmanship but that’s the case for nearly all offensive stars. His free-throw rate primarily comes from his elite burst, strength, deceleration and improved decision-making and timing. A Thunder defense missing Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Jalen Williams could not keep him out of the paint.
Mathurin’s downhill driving is excellent but can’t function without his floor-spacing threat. He sank 3-of-8 3-point attempts against Oklahoma City, multiple coming on deep, off-the-dribble looks in tight space at huge moments of the game.
As is the case with his drives, Mathurin’s shot selection from deep isn’t always pristine. But sometimes, the Pacers need his reckless abandon and confident outside shooting, even when his shots aren’t falling. Still, the Thunder feared his shot, which forced tighter closeouts, easier driving lanes and simple kick-out passes.
Indiana, especially with him moonlighting as a primary creator, must live with Mathurin’s limited feel and spotty vision. Take this play, for example, where Mathurin misses Jarace Walker wide open on the pick-and-pop. With 28 seconds left, Oklahoma City feels comfortable showing a second body at Mathurin, knowing he isn’t likely to pass opposite his momentum, and the offense stagnates:
Mathurin misses jarace on the ghost pic.twitter.com/iWMQgbQz61
— bjpfclips (@bjpfclips) October 24, 2025
It’s a tradeoff with which the Pacers are plenty familiar. Those inconsistencies meant his minutes fluctuated greatly last postseason. But Mathurin still scored 22.9 points per 75 possessions on 62.7 percent true shooting during the 2024-25 playoffs, barometers only matched by Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard and Julius Randle.
Mathurin had far from a banner playmaking evening, logging one assist and four turnovers yet threw one of his best pick-and-roll passes in quite some time. It’s not a perfect pass but Mathurin finds Isaiah Jackson rolling to the rim, punishing OKC’s aggressive pick-and-roll coverage:
There’s no shortage of stylistic diversity in the modern NBA. Varied offensive and defensive schemes are a hallmark of contemporary basketball, especially once the playoffs come around. We probably don’t think enough about diversity in approach and mentality, though, and how much that matters in the biggest moments.
Indiana sometimes falls into an over-passing flow. Aside from Siakam, Mathurin is the only healthy player on the roster who can reliably bail it out of those spots. Even considering his playmaking and defensive warts, Indiana needs a player with his unabashed scoring aggression.
For Mathurin to reach All-Star and regular playoff difference-maker status, he must balance this aggression with consistency and restraint when needed. With Haliburton sidelined all year, he’ll have the usage and touches to make a leap from microwave scorer to consistent offensive difference-maker.
We’ll need more than one game to know if a true jump is coming but Mathurin began his 2025-26 season as well as anyone could ask. Maybe, it’s finally happening. Famous last words.
